A Summary of Comments From the DOL Hearing on the Proposed Conflict of Interest Rule

On August 13, 2015, the Department of Labor (the “DOL”) concluded a four day public hearing on its proposed conflict of interest rule (the “Proposed Rule”). The approximately 75 witnesses generally fell into two groups: the financial services industry (the “Industry Group”) and consumer groups (the “Consumer Group” and collectively, the “Witness Groups”). During the hearing, each witness read a prepared statement before responding to questions from a panel of DOL employees. While the prepared statement of each witness was tailored to the specific needs and objectives of the party represented by the witness, certain comments and suggestions were common across many witnesses within the same Witness Group. This client publication summarizes some of those comments and suggestions.